The Padres and pitching coach Ruben Niebla have finalized a new multi-year deal, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune on X. 2024 was the final year of his previous contract but the two sides worked out a new pact to keep their relationship going, though the exact length of the new pact is unclear.
Niebla, 53 in December, was hired by the Padres going into 2022 after spending many years in the Guardians organization. The Friars have generally been successful in that time. They won 89 games in 2022 and made the playoffs, their first time doing so in a full season since 2006. They had a bit of a dip in 2023, falling to 82-80, but were back in the playoffs in 2024 with a 93-69 showing.
The pitching has generally been good in that time, with the club having a collective 3.80 earned run average over the past three seasons, good enough to get into the top 10 in the majors for that period. That’s despite some notable roster churn, as Sean Manaea and Mike Clevinger departed after 2022 before Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, Nick Martinez, Josh Hader and Michael Wacha departed after 2023.
It’s always tough to separate player performance from the contributions of a coach, but Niebla has enough respect in the game that he’s been considered for managerial openings. However, the Padres clearly wanted to have him back as the pitching coach. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller said this week that the club wanted to “reward the staff” that been part of the club’s recent success, per Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune on X.
Once again, the Padres will be challenged on the pitching front going into next year. Joe Musgrove recently underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss all of 2025, blowing a big hole in the rotation. They still have a strong front three of Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish but they don’t really have established options beyond that trio and both Cease and King are slated for free agency after 2025.
Changes are surely coming. The budget may be tight but Preller is often one of the most aggressive executives on the trade market. Though the roster may get shaken up in the coming months, the Friars can go into 2025 knowing the pitching coach won’t change.
Now Yu Know
Yes!!!
mlb fan
Baseball is sure popular in San Diego. I love seeing the daily overflow crowds of 40,000+ at Petco.
DarrenDreifortsContract
Dodgers fans who can’t afford Dodgers tickets.
Brew’88
Why are Dodger fans going to Petco to watch the Padres play the Pirates and Marlins?
Harrison Butker's Mount Rushmore Worthy Speech
Cause they are band wagon fans
James Midway
They just want to watch games at a stadium that doesn’t smell like pee
OfficerCarlWinslow
Congratulations Ruben N-word!
– Carl Winslow
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Well deserved for a great pitching coach, and he’s named after the 4th best sandwich
mlb fan
All this while Steve “Ham & Cheese” Brooks can’t get a sniff at a MLB coaching job.
Acoss1331
Niebla is also the name of a sandwich?
Acoss1331
Ruben, got it. Yes I feel dumb now.
Old York
Where do I find pitching coach advanced metrics?
Acoss1331
Okay Roger thanks for the heads up!
Butter Biscuits
Lets go goose!
HiredGun23
“It’s always tough to separate player performance from the contributions of a coach”…love the cut and paste job from every other coaching signing post on this site!
Samuel
HiredGun23;
Actually it’s quite easy…..
Look at how good the pitching was before the coach got there, and how good it is today. Especially how pitchers that were there for a while either improved or got worse.
Cleveland had 2 other pitching coaches poached. Blake with the Yankees and Sweeney with teh Royals (last year). Both teams pitching improved immediately.
Gwynning
Excellent, Smithers!!!
Pads Fans
Yes! Preller locking up the coaching staff is great news. Now go get a LH starting pitcher and a catcher.
Acoss1331
White Sox have entered the chat.
In all seriousness, Crochet is worth a look at near the trade deadline in my opinion.
Pads Fans
I would think Crochet would be more valuable in trade at the deadline because he will have more innings under his belt and will have proven his durability.
jbigz12
Roger go coach some little league and teach your slider! It’ll keep you occupied
disqus_g3cAw8QJKq
Just bring back Perez for #5 and pick up some 2nd tier vet to compete with Waldron for #4. Crochet feels like he will break with the steep increase in innings. Don’t want to give up anything of note for him.